Dear Reader:

“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.” – Carl Sandburg

The deck and the garden are the two best purchases I ever spent money on to date. Why? Because when I plop in the lounge chair and see/hear the geese flying overhead or watch a squirrel scamper by, in the garden, foraging for food, or hear the flutter of a butterfly or buzz of a  bumblebee… all my senses start focusing on that one perception. I, instantly, am drawn to that millisecond of time. Nothing exists before or after that one moment of awareness. I am finally just “being” with all thoughts of “doing” pushed far away from my consciousness

The deck and the garden have brought me mindfulness and this experience can not be bought with coins. My “trinity”( that keeps me centered in this stage of my life) consists of: deck, garden, and blog.

THE MOMENT ONE GIVES CLOSE ATTENTION TO ANYTHING, EVEN A BLADE OF GRASS, IT BECOMES A MYSTERIOUS, AWESOME, INDESCRIBABLY MAGNIFICENT WORLD IN ITSELF. – Henry Miller

My dream for my garden has always been one where the sense of intoxicating floral smells  assaulted one upon entrance, the gift of sight produced a visual array of different colors and textures, the magic of sound created the soothing rhythm of water tinkling in the fountain and the “sea glass” chimes playing their mysterious melodies, while allowing for whimsical interludes to send one into another world of utter peace and contentment .

I love mis-matching inanimate objects with living plants… also using fairy surprises to keep the whimsy alive throughout the garden. Here are some examples:

I also love to be startled by the sheer beauty and uniqueness of each living plant in God’s Creation. The first rose of the season, has arrived on Vickie’s rose bush that Suzanne Blanton gave her and she, later, transferred to my front side yard by the fence for more sun. It and the coleus called “Sedona” (like the scenic desert in Arizona) both take my breath away.

So until tomorrow…Stop, concentrate, and be part of the moment, embrace it, tuck its memory away in the far recesses of your mental “attic” storage… for the seasons when it won’t be there.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Great Advice!